Wesley's Weekly HOW TO: Right Hand of Doom
So you followed Erik's build with Hellboy's Good Samaritan, and you got your Demon Make-up ready, and you're ready for Hellboy II this Friday except for one thing. Hellboy's trademark Right Hand of Doom. So today i'm going to show you how to build your very own for 20 dollars.
The base for the build is this PVC coupling I purchased at my local hardware store.
I put some screws through the holes and glued them into place.
I then got a piece of poster board and wrapped it around, measuring approximately how wide I want the tube, then...
Hot glued it into that position...
Then hot glued it onto the base using the screws as anchor points.
Next, I got a large yellow sponge I bought at the hardware store as well....
And I coated the top layer in Plaster of Paris.
Then I cut the sponge down the center.
I then painted the plaster with a combination of red acrylic paint and liquid latex (to give it some flexibility).
After it dries, I cut it a strip out of it lengthwise.
Then I hotglued that strip around the top of the PVC piece. I had to cut two strips out of the sponge to get all the way around the base.
I then coated the outside of the tube with more plaster of paris, to add support and begin giving it a rocky texture.
And then I wraped another strip of sponge around the top of the cylinder.
I then reinforced it with additional plaster, also carving some indentions and shapes into the semi-wet plaster.
I mixed up more liquid latex and red acrylic paint, painting over the plaster after it dried.
Now for the actual hand, I got this heavy rubber glove, although I found it takes extraordinarily long for spray paint to dry on this glove, and hot glue has trouble staying stuck to it unless you perforate it first so the glue has something to soak into and really stick. So you MIGHT want to consider using a cloth or leather glove instead.
I just spray painted it a dark red then, while it dries...
I got a tissue and bonded it to the top of the other side of the sponge with my acrylic/liquid latex blend. First I painted the naked sponge, then layed the tissue on it, then put another layer of the paint on top of it, this adhears it to the sponge through the tissue.
Then after the glove dried, I hot glued a segment onto the top.
Then additional segments for the fingers. I followed a pattern similar to my Gauntlet build I did a few months ago, a wide rectangle for the core of the hand, then smaller segments for the fingers.
And there you go, the hand is almost done.
I added details to the indentions in the cylinder, darkening cracks, and overall making it look more ancient and worn.
And there you go, practically done. But I know i'm missing something. Hellboy's knuckle plugs...
To be honest, they are still drying, and I have yet to attach them, I will update with pictures of the plugs added soon. But really, you could go with gatorade bottle caps, form them out of clay, cut the bottom off of dixie cups or aluminum cans, or do what I did and use the inside of a dixie cup as a mold, put plaster into it, let it dry, then peel it off.
But really, you don't need them, although to have a more authentic looking one, it's suggested you improvise some plugs. Come back soon to see the FINAL VERSION pictures!
Epic masterpiece.
Now The Real Test Is TO Crush a Red Bull Can with it and not use CG!
nice 1 wes!
Totally Badass!!!
WOW, a lot of work, but it looks really real :) Can't wait to see it finished. Good Job on posting the step by step pics. Your a great teacher!
Wes! This is rad. I would love to see how it looks on film -- I think flash photos always make things look a little wonky. I want your genius displayed in the best possible manner!
Nice job Wes!
I'm sure this DYI could be used for many other applications, such as an alien hand or cybernetic arm.
Im just wondering Wes, But somebody in the forms recently need a car mount for a camera. I was wondering if you could do that. That would be really helpful for many videos because instead of using a steady-cam or something, the car would work too. it would be nice for it to mount on the front and back of the car. Thanks WES! keep up the GREAT work.
http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol13/?pg=149&u1=texterity&cookies=1 and http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol13/?pg=149&u1=texterity&cookies=1 show you how to make a car mount but I don't know if this is what you are looking for.
I could come up with something, let me think about it.
Yet again you fail to diappoint me, Wes! Oddly enough I made a comment on the forums yesterday about you doing a tutorial on this for the next how-to. I guess we get it earlier!
i think that its the best design ive seen. but just comparing yrs and the real one, it just seemed the hellboy one was way more bigger and/or thicker. but i still loved it :)
on a scale of 1 to 10 20
That first picture should be your new avatar, Wes.
Amazing.
>__< Fear the hot glue...for it will burn like hell fire...ahhh
Thanx
Excellent job Wes. This is really great. Good for anybody who wants to make a giant hand. I can't even imagine what would happen if you combined it with uhrisuh's werewolf hands tutorial.
schweet
Question, did you just use acrylic paint mixed with LL to paint the rest of the fingers and such where it was still yellow?
It was mostly acrylic for the fingers, because you see I covered it with tissue to act as a barrier sealing the pours of the foam. So it still has a rocky texture, but so it doesnt' look like pumice. But I sprayed down the whole thing with spray paint after I attached them, making sure to get plenty in the cracks, then I hit the edges with 3 layers of acrylic paint. Almost solid black for the cracks and deepest indentions and the spaces between the fingers, then mars red with black for the darkest red details, then a medium dark red for the final layer as a gradient between the darkest layer and the bright red highlights.
why don't wes and eric team up for a show?!?!?
That would be awesome, I do believe.
Cheers!
Oh yeah that is awesome im going to make it better along with the hellboy pistol and demon make p to make the ultimate costume Im going to use it to go to the PREMIER!!! yeah!!!!
how wide was the paper tube? im planning on using a pvc pipe instead of paper, so i wanna know. 4"? 5"? 4 3/4"?
It was about 5.5 to 6 inches across. I measured the top of the cylinder from one side to another, so diameter not circumference.
wes, why arent u doing ur own show? ur as smart as eric!!